“What are the Futures?” is the motto of this year’s Ars Electronica Futurelab at the Ars Electronica Festival: The Open Futurelab – which can be experienced free of charge in POSTCITY – awaits visitors with an exhibition area where you can participate, and Futurelab projects will also be presented in the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space 8K. Together, we’ll bridge generations, re-experience technology as a social tool and ask questions about empathy for people, other living beings and the planet. In the midst of diverse global challenges and technological revolutions, the Futurelab and it’s partners are engaging creative questions to become active and create new hope.
Participate at POSTCITY
In the exhibition area of the Open Futurelab at POSTCITY, there are numerous projects to experience and participate in. Future Teams presents a future in which humans and various living beings – from microorganisms to robots and AI – work together. Visitors can also try out Bridge 2040, a card game that connects generations and provides inspiration for diverse futures. Another attraction is Deep Sync, an innovative application for the Ars Electronica Center’s Deep Space 8K immersive experience space. Here, one’s own heartbeat is combined with sound and visualization for a unique group experience.
Anatomy of Nudging invites collaborative exploration of artificial intelligence to engage other festival visitors in small tasks. Visitors can also interact with Oribotic Instruments, which are made of electronic layers and textiles and offer a new kind of musical experience. Ori Shelter is also part of the Open Futurelab: it combines origami with social innovation and digital fabrication to create affordable living spaces for extreme situations.
On the main square in Linz, on the other hand, missimo is ready to be tried out: a project for children between eight and ten that offers experiments in AI, robotics and programming and will soon be visiting schools all over Austria by truck. How humans can interact in digital spaces in the future using digital avatars, will be part of the panel discussion presenting the European R&D consortium SHARESPACE – including an Open Call for artists. This year’s artist in residence at the Futurelab, Tom Bogaert, presents his “war-hacking” artworks Objection in the Säulenhalle at POSTCITY – bending technology and engaging with weaponry within a discourse of refusal. In Deep Space 8K, students from Hagenberg University of Applied Sciences present semester projects with the Ars Electronica Futurelab under the title Media Spaces & Generative Art.
Unique Experiences in Deep Space 8K
The Data Art & Science Project presents five artistic explorations linking data art and data science in Deep Space 8K. Also presented in Deep Space 8K is the making-of Faust VR: the elaborate digital reconstruction of the stage set of Max Reinhardt’s famous Faust production from 1933, which was implemented together with the Salzburg Festival as a novel virtual reality experience. Deep Space 8K will also host the world premiere of Deep Sync on Wednesday. These visions and more will also be part of the live Futurelab Night Performances that will offer extraordinary experiences and insights on Saturday evening at the Ars Electronica Center.
All information about the projects is available on the Open Futurelab 2023 website, and the exact dates for the program can be found in the Ars Electronica Futurelab Festival Calendar.